[ But even as Michon enters, he'll find the Iudex stood by one of his bookshelves, brows furrowed as he pores through a file. He lifts his head enough to glance at him at the sound of his footsteps-- as is the polite thing to do, anyway-- but then he's quick to gesture to the settee off to the side. ]
I'll only be a moment. Feel free to make yourself comfortable, Monsieur.
[ The next few minutes consist of him taking the file in his hand (and several others) to his desk, where notes are written into paper and he inevitably calls in one of his Marechaussee stoodby outdoors. After being given gentle instructions to disseminate the information he'd collected, the little Melusine salutes with an upward smile, and only once she's left-- and once Neuvillette has come forward to lock his doors to keep from interruption-- does he finally turn on his heel to afford Michon his full attention.
Truthfully, he finds the whole exercise incredibly unnecessary. But in the same way Furina, as the Hydro Archon, required gardes to protect her at all times, so too does the Court's Iudex as its new leader require some form of security. A whole band of humans behind him would have been unbecoming at best, and so the decision to have a single bodyguard had been Neuvillette's own. According to Sedene, Michon had seemed the best man for the job.
He doesn't bother with niceties. If Michon is to be by his side, he'll learn swiftly that Neuvillette isn't one to waste time.
The first thing he asks is: ] Are you aware of the unrest in the Court brought about by all these recent changes?
[ The slander towards Furina, the hatred that Neuvillette had let her go so easy, the way a small group of people declaring he take the execution meant for the Hydro Archon for his leniency-- these are all common sentiment so long as one knew where to look. ]
I understand you were discharged from the Fortress only a few weeks prior, at most. Has it been long enough for you to form an opinion on this topic, yourself?
[he doesn't bother to say anything about being called monsieur, a title he had neither ever fit nor ever cared for. it's only natural, given the man's position and his habits. similarly, there's little hesitation in following the gesture to the settee and stepping over to it with little more than a murmur of thanks.
all things considered, he doesn't seem particularly bothered by the wait, expression plain, a little blank even. after all, he isn't sure just yet what to expect of Neuvillette outside of the last time he'd seen him—an utterly different circumstance from this one, to be sure.
hands resting in his lap, Michon listens silently to the conversation, taking in what seems important—that is to say, practically none of it. the work of the Marechaussee is hardly his business. it's the sound of elegant footsteps, the click of a door lock that barely registers, that pull his attention properly back to Neuvillette before he speaks.]
I am aware. [a simple response, to begin, the scrunch of his nose showing distaste. he is no Duke, and he holds little and less knowledge of the goings-on of most people... but on the subject of small insurgent groups? those have most certainly come across his radar in the past few weeks.
it's probably no surprise, then, that he does respond in kind, back straightening and legs shifting to a more comfortable, upright position. furniture is... not made for people his size, really.]
My opinion is that they are the desperate—but dangerous—opinions of people scrabbling for the slightest chance of power. I have understood that this is how some humans think for far longer than my sentence; that leniency is weak, and justice can only be fulfilled in steel and iron.
[he speaks softly, but not meekly; though his opinion is given without significant emphasis, it's still clearly his own. his morality may be skewed based on those he cares about enough to follow, but it is nonetheless deeply rooted.]
I don't believe the numbers are too significant, though, nor that popular opinion will swing significantly down their path.
[it's just... the fanatics that are the potential problem, he thinks. many more are likely to think like him—aware that the changes will leave some of Fontaine's structure in rocky territory, but ultimately... it's not that big a deal. Neuvillette has been the backbone of Fontaine for as long as she had, in as many ways as she had. once the issue of Indemnitium is solved, is there anything the man hadn't overseen at least in part?]
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[ But even as Michon enters, he'll find the Iudex stood by one of his bookshelves, brows furrowed as he pores through a file. He lifts his head enough to glance at him at the sound of his footsteps-- as is the polite thing to do, anyway-- but then he's quick to gesture to the settee off to the side. ]
I'll only be a moment. Feel free to make yourself comfortable, Monsieur.
[ The next few minutes consist of him taking the file in his hand (and several others) to his desk, where notes are written into paper and he inevitably calls in one of his Marechaussee stoodby outdoors. After being given gentle instructions to disseminate the information he'd collected, the little Melusine salutes with an upward smile, and only once she's left-- and once Neuvillette has come forward to lock his doors to keep from interruption-- does he finally turn on his heel to afford Michon his full attention.
Truthfully, he finds the whole exercise incredibly unnecessary. But in the same way Furina, as the Hydro Archon, required gardes to protect her at all times, so too does the Court's Iudex as its new leader require some form of security. A whole band of humans behind him would have been unbecoming at best, and so the decision to have a single bodyguard had been Neuvillette's own. According to Sedene, Michon had seemed the best man for the job.
He doesn't bother with niceties. If Michon is to be by his side, he'll learn swiftly that Neuvillette isn't one to waste time.
The first thing he asks is: ] Are you aware of the unrest in the Court brought about by all these recent changes?
[ The slander towards Furina, the hatred that Neuvillette had let her go so easy, the way a small group of people declaring he take the execution meant for the Hydro Archon for his leniency-- these are all common sentiment so long as one knew where to look. ]
I understand you were discharged from the Fortress only a few weeks prior, at most. Has it been long enough for you to form an opinion on this topic, yourself?
no subject
all things considered, he doesn't seem particularly bothered by the wait, expression plain, a little blank even. after all, he isn't sure just yet what to expect of Neuvillette outside of the last time he'd seen him—an utterly different circumstance from this one, to be sure.
hands resting in his lap, Michon listens silently to the conversation, taking in what seems important—that is to say, practically none of it. the work of the Marechaussee is hardly his business. it's the sound of elegant footsteps, the click of a door lock that barely registers, that pull his attention properly back to Neuvillette before he speaks.]
I am aware. [a simple response, to begin, the scrunch of his nose showing distaste. he is no Duke, and he holds little and less knowledge of the goings-on of most people... but on the subject of small insurgent groups? those have most certainly come across his radar in the past few weeks.
it's probably no surprise, then, that he does respond in kind, back straightening and legs shifting to a more comfortable, upright position. furniture is... not made for people his size, really.]
My opinion is that they are the desperate—but dangerous—opinions of people scrabbling for the slightest chance of power. I have understood that this is how some humans think for far longer than my sentence; that leniency is weak, and justice can only be fulfilled in steel and iron.
[he speaks softly, but not meekly; though his opinion is given without significant emphasis, it's still clearly his own. his morality may be skewed based on those he cares about enough to follow, but it is nonetheless deeply rooted.]
I don't believe the numbers are too significant, though, nor that popular opinion will swing significantly down their path.
[it's just... the fanatics that are the potential problem, he thinks. many more are likely to think like him—aware that the changes will leave some of Fontaine's structure in rocky territory, but ultimately... it's not that big a deal. Neuvillette has been the backbone of Fontaine for as long as she had, in as many ways as she had. once the issue of Indemnitium is solved, is there anything the man hadn't overseen at least in part?]